Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Peace, Love and Bad Parenting

While Natalie and I were dining at Piada yesterday, I witnessed a scene that motivated me to actually use my i-phone for snark. I admit it, I saw the blog worthiness of the situation and was full on prepared to capture the images for the world wide web.

I’ll start by admitting I am not the perfect parent. (Far from it actually) I try to practice what I preach and lead by example. It is why my hellions smile, say please and thank you and hold doors open for people. This further explains why my kids have messy rooms and nice outfits. But in all seriousness, the lessons our children learn and retain are the ones they absorb from us on a daily basis.

I used to say, “Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey get in trouble too” after I bought the tripletsthese matching shirts- and it applies unilaterally to them as much as it does to me. Likewise, it also is applicable to the idiots that I saw eating at Piada.

Natalie and I sat near a couple and their two young offspring. We both stared in amazement as the parents completely ignored the fact that their kids were making a humongous mess. I could tell the couple was all Birkenstock wearing, granola crunching and free spirited, but c’mon people, if your child is throwing food in public, it is your responsibility to stop it, and clean up the mess. Unless of course, you are rude, disrespectful and inconsiderate.

Please tell me how someone could just walk away from this tableand leave it for the restaurant staff? You can't tell from the tone of my typing, but I was HOT. I was all fired up and my blood was boiling. I realize that Piada is not a white table cloth kind of place, but just because it isn’t fancy doesn’t mean you can trash the place. How difficult would it have been to make a life lesson out this by re-directing your precious pasta loving child and showing them that when we make a disgusting mess, we take a moment to clean it up.

Bad Parenting. Bad, bad, bad.

Instead of bending down and picking up pasta, using a napkin to detox the high chair, and giving the area a quick once over, they left. Poof. Gone! As they shuffled out the door, I whipped out my i-phone and took the photos. It was going viral. The asshats in the white minivanthat was coated with PEACE, and LOVE stickers were the guilty parties. Hippie Mom has been outted. Just because you are an all natural, tree hugger doesn't mean you are an excellent example for your children.

So there you have it. Peace, Love, and Bad Parenting, brought to you by this Piada loving, snarky blogging mommie.

1 comment:

I always feel dumb crawling around picking up my babies mess. But my sister-in-law used to be a waitress and she says it is GREATLY appreciated.I'm not sure why people feel it is others responsibility to clean up after them, don't we learn this in kindergarten?